Top 10 North Coast Section high school baseball rankings (3/18/2024)

After big wins over San Ramon Valley and two-time defending Northern California D1 champion De La Salle, Granada takes over top spot

It's not even April, but the baseball powers of the North Coast Section are beginning to take place. 

The top team for almost a decade, De La Salle, has had a couple tough one-run defeats, but don't expect there to be much fall off from the two-time defending Northern California Division 1 champions. 

Granada has vaulted to the top of the early going with a 7-0 start. 

1. Granada (7-0)

Matadors open East Bay Athletic League play with wins over two top teams, San Ramon Valley (6-1) and De La Salle (5-4). Granada host Dougherty Valley Wednesday and travel to California Friday. 

2. De La Salle (4-2)

Perennial state power sustains second one-run loss in a week after losing at St. Mary's-Stockton 3-2 on March 7. Spartans have home games with Dublin and Livermore Wednesday and Friday. 

3. Acalanes (7-0)

State champions in football, the school's banner sports year continues as Dons have outscored foes 41-20, winning four games by two runs or less. Acalanes hosts Piedmont Wednesday and travels to San Leandro on Thursday. 

4. Cardinal Newman (4-2)

The perennial North Bay power opened the season with an 8-2 loss to national No. 9 Valley Christian-San Jose and has a 3-2 loss to Berkeley. But they've also recorded shutout wins over Liberty, Oak Ridge and Whitney. The Cardinals have a showdown with top-ranked Granada at home on Saturday. 

5. Redwood (7-0)

The Giants have been giants on the mound, allowing one run or less in five of their wins. Sophomore Jack Moseley has been a one-man wrecking crew with 15 RBI and 12 hits. Junior pitcher Matthew Knauer has has struck out 11 in 12 innings and sports an 0.68 ERA.

6. Heritage (6-1-1)

The perennial Bay Valley Athletic League power opened the season with a 10-5 loss to Acalanes, but have gone unbeaten in the next seven games, including three wins last week over Burlingame (8-0), Central Valley (6-2) and Bear Creek (4-2). The Patriots have home games with Tokay and Tracy on Wednesday and Saturday.

7. James Logan (5-1)

Following a season-opening 10-1 loss to No. 1 Granada, the Colts have won five straight, three over EBAL squads — Amador Valley (1-0), Foothill (7-3) and Dougherty Valley (7-4). Logan travels and hosts Moreau Catholic this week. 

8. Castro Valley (9-3)

The Trojans rebounded from tough losses to Napa (1-0) and Moreau Catholic (2-0) with big wins over Newark Memorial (11-1) and St. Mary's-Berkeley (18-3). David Colon and Michael Olsen have combined for 21 RBI.

9. San Marin (7-2)

After opening the season 1-2, the perennial Marin County Athletic League power has won six straight by a 55-8 count, including 12-1 over Maria Carrillo and 18-0 over Branson. Cole Chamberlain already has three doubles and 13 RBI. 

10. Pittsburg (6-2)

The Pirates recovered nicely from a 5-0 loss to James Logan with big wins voer Irvington (8-1) and Campolindo (9-0). They host De Anza and Washington-Fremont on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. 

Five others to watch

Bishop O'Dowd (7-2)

Berkeley (4-2)

Foothill (5-3)

Dublin (5-3)

Clayton Valley Charter (4-2)